Floor POD Plus
Reviewed by:
UG Team, on may 09, 2007 9 of 10 people found this review helpful

Ease of Use: Line 6's Floor POD Plus is firmly entrenched in the "Guitar Effects For Dummies" vein; even if you have no idea what is going on, you can twiddle knobs until you get a tone you like. There is a knob to select amp model, one to select effect, and several others for compression, delay, noise gate, and reverb. The knobs are carefully laid out to give the user a maximum of tone-shaping capability with a minimum of confusion.
There are also several footswitches: one for Bank Up and Bank Down, then one each for presets A, B, C, D from each bank. This layout is far preferable to a simple Up/Down, as you have four tones immediately available with one touch. There is a Tap button to set delay time (a very useful feature), and a treadle on the right that can be used for volume or wah. There is even a built-in tuner -- Line 6 designed the Floor POD Plus so that you would not need any external gear at all. // 8

Sound: The electronics and models are essentially lifted from the older "kidney bean" version of the POD. The requisite Fender, Marshall, Vox and Mesa models are all present, as well as some less-popular but very cool choices like Dumble, Soldano, Budda and Matchless. High-end tone connoisseurs should recognize these names as among the vanguard of hand-assembled amps. Overall, I felt the Floor POD Plus lacked realism in a way that is difficult to describe. Listen to the sound clips for examples; I recorded them all with a Washburn Dime 333, loaded with a Seymour Duncan JB, direct into my computer. There is a lack of roominess or woodiness, very difficult to capture but essential for realistic tones. The feel of it is pretty compressed also. The response of this unit is different from the amps it mimics, something you will notice when you plug into it. // 7

Reliability & Durability: The POD is a tried-and-true design, one of the reasons Line 6 has stuck with it and modified it for many years rather than starting from scratch. The Floor POD Plus, while a brand-new product, seems well-put together and sturdy. The switches seem a little flimsy to me, but I have not heard of any problems with any facet of the pedal as yet. // 8

Overall Impression: The Floor POD Plus is not designed for someone who needs a giant rack full of gear, tube amps and 4x12 cabinets for days to get the tone they like. This pedal is designed to have a wide variety of tones available for three purposes: silent recording, low-volume practice and playing direct through a PA. Part of the reason for Line 6's success is that is does all these things admirably. Not as well as plugging into the real amps, but far cheaper and simpler. I wouldn't have a unit like this as my main tone, but it would be great for a backup in case I have amp trouble at a gig. // 8

Floor POD Plus
Reviewed by:
oliverkontis, on august 20, 2007 2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Ease of Use: The New Floor POD Plus is an exeptional piece of engineering, that may look like a hi-tech piece of equipment for professionals when recording, but with a reasonably detailed manual it soon becomes an easy to use 'Jam-Machine'. There are a huge range of amp and cabinet models to choose from along with 120 presets with also 120 spaces to fill in your own custom settings, the Floor POD Plus really is something special, an easy to use package for beginers or experts just hoping to improve. // 7

Sound: POD is recognized throughout the world as the way to get authentic amp tones and effects in a small package. The newest addition to the legendary POD line, Floor POD Plus unites the timeless sounds from POD 2.0 with a greatly expanded set of premium effects. This slick, road-ready package gives you 32 amp models, 16 classic cabs, 16 modulation effects (including chorus, flanger, and tremolo), 6 delay models, and 2 different types of reverb- all with ultimate tweakability. Now, with Floor POD Plus it's easier than ever to create your own custom signature sound and bring it to the stage with time to spare, within minutes you can create the sound you've always wanted to but haven't been able to without having to spend hundreds of pounds on multiple FX pedals. I play through the Floor POD Plus using an Ibanez JS100 or an Epiphone Special II. The multiple effects that are achievable with both guitars in multiple tunings are beyond belief, with mostly strong effects and many settings from other line6 amp effects like: hi-gain, Line6 Insane, Line6 Crunch, Line6 Clean, Tweed Blues and the line6 classic Fuzz Box. It is easy to create sounds from your favourite artists, wheather you prefer bands like the beatles, and Fall Out Boy, or bands like Atreyu And Silverstein. Many Sounds are similar to a normal amp with no effects, but effects like Obi-Wah and Swell give a very un orthodox 'Floaty' feeling to a chord, so the Floor POD Plus really can provide the sound that you've been looking for! // 9

Reliability & Durability: The Floor POD Plus is a very durable piece of equipment that I have owned for many months now and have had no problem with whatsoever. I would hope that it would still work as well as the day that I got it and give the same great sound for many years to come. I Would definately use this in gigs etc as I wouldn't expect a sudden loss of sound from the Floor POD Plus. // 9

Overall Impression: I play a mixture of music, I play many 'chordy' songs aswell as heavy songs, but I am also keen on experimenting with new effects and sounds. I have been playing for roughly two and a half years and have not come across another piece of equipment with such a mixture of new developed sound and old classic settings such as Fuzz Box and Crunch. I Would definately buy the Floor POD Plus again if it was stolen or lost because of the many features I love about it e.g Treadplate, Obi-Wah and the six different delay settings. This product is defiately a huge step up from the Floor POD and The POD 2.0 and The Floor POD Plus has really set the bar for any new effect systems. // 9

Floor POD Plus
Reviewed by:
paesano, on september 10, 2009 1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Price paid: $ 300

Purchased from: musiciansfriend

Ease of Use: It's not the hardest pedal to tweak but it's not the easiest either. You'll be reading the manual that's for sure, there are a ton of sounds on this pedal so it'll take some time to figure out how to get your sound out of it. Some of the setting require you to hold down knbos while you turn others and it doesn't leave your hands free to do anything else so that kind of turned me off. I never patched it but there's downloads available, the manual is pretty good. It's not confusing at all. // 8

Sound: When I used it (in 2007) I only used that pedal and ran out of the left output into a PA set. I was playing an ESP LTD M-50. It's a little noisy and on high gain settings you have to really clamp down on the included noise gate to stop it and it stomps on your tone.
The modulation effects are nice, there's some really cool effects like comet trails, tron, ring modulation, and the normal chorus, phaser, flanger. There's alot of amp models and cabinet models on there and it's a good reference for what kind of amp you'll want to buy later but I found the gain lacking even with the gain boost. The tone knobs don't do a whole lot, they're pretty ineffectual. The expression pedal is great for volume control but the wah is weak and you can't assign the pedal to effects values.
I was able to get a great sound with the tron modulation setting, it sounded alot like Satriani's tone in One Big Rush. // 7

Reliability & Durability: It's a sturdy pedal. The only thing I had a problem with was the expression pedal Switch. After about a year, I had to press down on it so hard to engage it I thought I was going to break it. Other than that it's a sturdy pedal. I would use it on a gig without a backup. The bank buttons are nice and spaced out, you have plenty of room to step on them without hitting other pedals and they're very sturdy and responsive. // 7

Overall Impression: I was playing alot of Satriani at the time and it was decent. I've been playing for 17 years and I use a Hughes & Kettner Switchblade and a Schecter Hellraiser Deluxe. I wish I had played this pedal before I bought it, if it were stolen I wouldn't replace it. I love the cool mod effects but I hate the tuner, you have to be standing right over the top of the pedal to see the lights. My favorite feature was the delay. I could get some cool sounds with it. I compared it to alot of the DigiTech pedals and after using some of those, I probably should have bought one of them instead. I wish it had more gain and I wish the expression pedal could be assigned to manipulate effects values. // 7

Floor POD Plus
Reviewed by:
ebmusicman16, on november 15, 2010 0 of 0 people found this review helpful

Price paid: £ 120

Purchased from: GAK (Brighton)

Ease of Use: I bought the Floor POD Plus as my first Floor POD and it didn't disapoint. Its extremely easy to get a good sound out of it because the genius' at Line 6 have made 120 presets and 4 spaces to record your own sounds and if that isnt enough you can overide the presets. It has all the amp models you could need and it has tonnes of effects. // 9

Sound: I use it through a Line 6 Spider IV and it sounds great. I use a Fender Strat or an Ibanez through it and the Floor POD delivers grat results. With some of the Original Line 6 sounds eg: Line 6 clean and Insane it takes a lot to beat. I only have one problem with it Fuzz Box is a very crackly tone and it still makes noises when the guitar is turned to 0. // 9

Reliability & Durability: It is definetly dependable. I have never had a problem with it and I used it on stage without a backup and I was never worried because Line 6 make such good products. It works as well as the day I got it out of the box and it can withstand anything I throw at it (not literally)! // 10

Overall Impression: I normally play rock to metal and it is great for both. It also delivers an amazing tone for those times when you want it clean. If I lost it I would definetly go out and buy it because I love it. It can get pretty much any sound you want. FANTASTIC PRODUCT WELL DONE LINE 6! // 10

A buddy of mine actually plays this through his acoustic, but he really doesn't use many of the effects on it except flange and light distortion periodically. It doesn't sound bad, just a little digitally.

U.P wrote:
those sound samples are really low quality. Maybe it'll sound better if you dont compress it so much.

Just to clarify: I recorded the sound samples direct from the POD into my computer, so you're not hearing any coloration from an amp/cabinet, microphone, or anything else.
The sound is, indeed, pretty compressed, but I only added a little bit after I recorded to smooth the peaks and bring up the overall level. The bulk of the compression you're hearing is from the POD itself--I used the factory presets for all three sound samples. Thanks for reading!

question for anyone out there who has it or has used it, can you just plug it straight into your amp, and it sounds good, and also to plug into your computer, do you have to have a midi controller already or is there some sort of usb device?? P.M. me, thanks

Their is no midi controller or usb just left and right 1/4 out. I have not heard the clips, but I use mine for 3 things. I split the signal between my mesa and peavey to run in stereo although it sounds more like dual mono. To me it sounds really good through 2 tube amps seems to remove that solid state feel. It also works as a back up if I loose an amp. I have an ass load of new pedals & vintage pedals but this supplements amp sounds I dont have and pedals that dont exist plus you have the option of turning off your amp model and play through your amps using just the effects in my case 2 amps. cool feature. As far as recording it all depends on card or break out box. The better the mic pre the better a pod or your amp will sound I use an echo mia fairly cheap $199 when I bought mine they have come down now, M-audio has some cheap break out box's. Point being Guitar World didnt give it a gold or platinum award cause it sucks it does what it made to and does it well if you take the time to play with it. Like I said I have all the pedals I need, this gives me amps if I want them and effects with out all the noise. The korg sounds good and so does the vox and zoom if you want to hear digital try the digitech.line6 is the original and still the best if you want to run it through a computer go with the xt run through an amp go with the plus and record via mic or line out. Love mine and yes I played them all I worked @ GC

it's good but it could be much better ... there is no PITCH SHIFTER. I need it so badly. Zoom GFX707 has PITCH SHIFTER, drum-machine, sampler ... it cost me 50$ and i think gear which cost 200$ shouldn't be less "equipped" with effects than cheaper multieffects.
The sound isn't that bad. It's good and sometimes it fits me perfectly. BUT I NEED PITCH SHIFTER ...
The Line6 should make a Floor POD Puls PLUS with some missing effects.

Ive recently recieved the floor pod plus and ive been trying to play it threw my line 6 spider 3 amp and i cant seem to be able to switch from clean to distorted by just using a footswitch, i also have to change the channels on my amp such as (clean to insane)is there a way around this or is this just not compatable with other line 6 amps for some reson? help me

I also had this experience when I plugged in my 30 watts Spider, the floorpod amp models sounds bad and very dry. At first I thought it was my guitar, but when I plugged directly to my PA system it sounds great.Also when I plugged direct to my presounus inspire interface and do some records it sounds great and not too noisy. I need to try with some other amps like marshall or vox if its the same... anyone there tried before?

Yeah I just bought this pedal a few days ago and I tried to play it through my Line 6 Spider 3 15-watt, and the distortion sounds awful. I get a really strange hum, and the noise gate doesn't seem to block it out... I really don't think the floor pod is compatible with the Line 6 amps for some reason .... strange since its the same company.

For a few months of experiments, I find this floorpod awesome & pretty gorgeous. Its a bit tricky, try not to put the floor pod to full volume,you need to adjust the volume by comparing with guitar connected to floorpod & guitar to a direct connection to a spider amp, meaning there is a need to calibrate. Brit Hi Gain,Thread plate,Modern Hi gain are quite good distortions.

so is it possible to use my spider 3 15 watt (i use it for practicing at home) to work with the floor pod plus and still sound okay? or can i just set my amp to the clean channel and set the distortion through the pod?

You can start by leaving your amp on the clean channel (I play it through a Roland Cube 40XL clean) and start tweaking the Floor POD + from there. Then tweak the Cube just a little to get that little extra nastiness to the tone.....

First Posting Woo Hoo!!
Purchased this a month ago and have been constantly fiddling with it to achieve a decent tone.
After checking the manual and Line 6 customer support I found I had the thing routed incorrectly into my amp.
Rather than inputting through the normal Guitar input, it is recommended to route through a CD in!!!
This has to do with 'stacking' pre-amps and leads to all sorts of unwanted noise.
After a reroute this thing was transformed, models now sound as they should and additional pedals placed pre floor pod are having the desired effect.
If you have this unit connected through anything with Gain and EQ it will be inneffective. If this is your last resort keep gain low Bass 5 Mid/Contour 0 Treble 5. Or connect to Audio System.
Also do not forget the amp/direct switch to disable A.I.R.
Hope this helps...

I'm thinking about buying one of these and the compression comments caught me, but then I realized that of course its going to sound compressed plugging it into a computer because that's what its made to do so it doesn't blow out your headphones and also the computer sound card has something to do with it.

guys dont waste your time on this one.
i bought it and was very dissapointed with it.
the sound was too muddy and dry, especially when distorted.
your better off saving for a better effects.
trust me, if not youll regret it.
and this thing isnt very easy to use.

DREW-O_999.
YES I HAVE A SPIDER 3 150(AND SOME OTHER AMPS AS WELL)AND IF U PUT THIS THING IN UR SPIDER U WILL GET A REALLY BAD BUZZ AND FEEDBACK AND THEN THE SOUND OUT OF THE PEDAL DOESN'T COME OUT RIGHT.

i have a fender frontman, so im guessing it would work for me.
i am completely new to pedals and have no knowledge of what to do with them. im deciding between buying this and a digitch rp350 or rp355. they both seem like quality pedals for their money, and i dont have a clue which to decide on. would you recommend this pedal for a new user, or should i buy stompboxes and stuff like that. im confused. help would be great. thanks.

this is my first pedal ever, i was gonna buy one of those single effect pedals which costs like 50 bucks, i liked the one with lots of distortion and gain for metal, but the dude told me to get this line 6 floor POD, and told me its better, but when i got home, i cant get the tone i like. i feel ripped off, the POD is so hard to use, and since this is my first pedal, it makes it even worse for me, now i dont even feel like playing guitar because the POD ruins the sound.

TO mdr85
if u want to get in2 multi-effects stuff then i would recommend digitechs rp500.its more expesive but its much easier to use and has alot more sounds to it,or i would check out deltalabs multi effects pedal. also u might want 2 consider buying pedals first. iwould get a ditortion pedal,a overdrive pedal,and a chorus pedal. but in any case i would go digitech. they 4 the most part r the simplest to use,and they 4 the most part arent buzzy r bassy like alot of boss pedals.

Line 6 made all its floor pedals not to go through a line 6 amps. Line 6 Pedals such as the Floor pod plus act as a pre amplifier. They are not made to go through Line 6 amps that already have effects on them. Because if you take the effects coming through the pedal and connect it to the amp with effects also those effect are going to mix and you are going to get crap. Line 6 pedals are made to go through solid state amps such as a Marshal amp, Fender amp, or a solid state vox with no effects. Over all I have had a Line 6 Floor pod plus for a while and its works great and it sounds amazing. But The Pedal will not work through line 6 spider amps or general amps with effects. Even if you put the amps setting on clean it will not work. Hope This helps

i bought this a while ago now, took me 30 an hour to get a good distortion sound with it. the delay makes a strange noise with it and it does'nt have a pitch shifter, but the distortion from it is good not digitolly as long as you play around with it. but i want a pitch shifter so i was wandering would it work if i bought a sepertae single pedal and put it in after this in series

I use this with my spider, and it sounds pretty good. instead of using the cab models I just turn the cab model off, and it couldn't sound better. If you use this pedal right it will not disappoint! Also tried with a friend's peavey, and fender, all sounded flawless, just needed some tweaking. Don't listen to the presets, and make your own tones and I guarantee you won't be disappointed.

Hobozach is right. You can use your fpp with a spider amp. Let's say you love the insane sound of your spider, just choose the amp model insane and turn off the cab, you will have the same exact sound from your fpp. So dont hesitate to buy it even if you own a spider as amp!
Jul

For a beginner, is the Floor Pod Plus a good multi-fx pedal. Been playing for about a year now and i've never bought a pedal of any sort but i have used a friends digitec pedal, what would everyone recommend

Before I bought my Floor Pod Plus I read all of the comments I could - and I figured out the sound problem. The FPP outputs a sound that is already complete. It needs to be routed through a CLEAN amp (solid-state without overdrive) to sound really good. I get my best and most devastating wonderful sounds out of an old, extremely high fidelity Yamaha stereo amp. I also get great sound through my Marshall, Peavey, and Crate amps - all solid-state. I also have a 15w SpiderIII amp which I have not plugged the FPP into. When I do try the Spider, I am going to input it into the CD input, which will not re-condition the "already finished" FPP output. Also, if you plug your guitar into someone else's favorite amp, you WILL tweak the knobs to suit your own guitar. That is exactly what you have to do with the Floor Pod Plus also. Consider it someone elses "guitar" amp until you tweak it for your guitar. I actually use it for my 4-string electric Mandoblaster and it is awesome.

i use it on the clean channel of my Randall KH-75 and it sound amazing, u just have to make your own tones, it's much better that the presets. i think it will sound great only if you plug it through the CLEAN channel

You guys are all connecting the pedal to the amp wrong. Connect it either into a CD imput or into the effects return using only the power of the amp and not its pre amp. If you connect it directly into the amp you are stacking 2 pre amps which will cause your amp to have a very bad feedback problem. You can still do this but you need to make one of the pre amps flat (turning gain and bass down and mid full). I couldnt figure it out and was very dissapointed when I was having these problems but if you connect it either to a CD imput or effects return it will sound great.

Anybody know how these sound with all tube amps? I have a Marshall dsl 401, I like the 'idea' of the amp modelling, particularly '85 MesaBoogie. After reading the entire thread I feel Im still none the wiser! It starts negative and ends (so far) quite positive. To be honest I'm new to the effects thing so please forgive my ingnorence lol : was also looking at a VOX Tonelab ST. Any views, thoughts, opinions??
\\m//

I just want to clarify, does this sound decent through a good tube amp bypassing the amp modeling and only using the effects present? And do the effects sound too digital? I am mainly after some far out delay and reverb effects that analogue stomp-boxes dont give me...apparently the Line 6 flanger isnt bad either?

I'm going to reiterate >.>.
When using the Floor Pod Plus through an amp, either hold down the "manual" button by the LED display, and turn the cab modeling off, or hold down the knob itself whilst doing so. Either way, if you have the cab modeling on through an amp, you will have that dry digital crappy tone everyone keeps ragging on. Turn OFF the cab modeling, but definetely still use the amp modeling. It will sound like your using stompboxes, but REALLY effing good stompboxes. Don't use it for direct recording or through a PA system...period. From my experience, playing it through an amp,(once again, i am reiterating for clarity) with the switch on the back turned to "amp", the output knob on the back at 11-12 o clock, and the CAB modeling off, this makes every amp I have ever played through sound amazing. I used a Spider III 30 watt, and it made me rethink my position on the amp, as bad as it is, and I'm currently using it through a Fender Frontman 65R, and once again, it doesn't dissapoint. The Fender sounds good on clean by itself(its a Fender. With Clean. What more do you want as far as clean tones go?), joined with this underrated pedal, sounds...so good. Played at a gig recently with the fender and the FPP, and I got so many compliments on my tone, and even more "Woah"'s when I told them what I was running. Play with the settings, and make sure you do what I said, i can guarantee you will not be dissapointed.
Note: when running through an amp, boost the amp's EQ to your liking. The tone will sound good by itself, but to get a better feel to it, I boost my Bass up to 5. My Treble I have at most 3, but thats me. Make sure not to turn the gain or the treble too much, or you will get that raspy, wretchy fake digital sound to it. Play with it, AND TURN OFF THE CAB MODELING!!!!!

Totally agree.....I run mine thru a Roland Cube 40XL with the EQ settings you just said on the amp....but I tweak the plate reverb just a little and put the chorus midway on the amp....nothing fake bout the FP+.....If you're looking for something just to find and shape your tone, the Floor Pod is a GREAT place to start.....

Stone Agean wrote:
I just want to clarify, does this sound decent through a good tube amp bypassing the amp modeling and only using the effects present? And do the effects sound too digital? I am mainly after some far out delay and reverb effects that analogue stomp-boxes dont give me...apparently the Line 6 flanger isnt bad either?

It colors your tone a little bit, but, not enough to matter a whole lot. So to answer your questions, yes, no and yes. The FX, if tweaked enough will be decent enough for what it sounds like what your looking for. But your better off buying Line 6's stompboxes for that stuff, rather than getting this whole package. Or, some other stompboxes that you maybe haven't tried yet. The FPP is good for those who can't really afford a lot of stompboxes and decent tube amps, so using it for the Multi FX aspect alone wouldn't be wise, just because of the tone coloring part. Try it out, but, just be weary of other options =/. If it helps any I know of a lot of Pros that use Line 6 Stompboxes, like their flanger and delay stomps(I forget the model names). Look on GC =/

This is a great all in one effects POD for people who are unsure about effects and first time users of effects. Ive had one of these 2 years now and i still use it with my blackstar HT-5S and Ibanez and its a great combo. However, unless you have an effects loop in your amp it does tend to be very fuzzy and distorted even on cleaner settings and channels.

If you already have Line6 Spider II, III, IV - this really isn't for you. You would want to get the approporiate FBV pedal to control that amp. This POD is a guitar preamp with optional cabinet modelling (A.I.M). If you insist on using it with a SPIDER amp, plug it into the aux/cd in as that bypasses the amps preamp. The next best best would be a power amp in or an effects loop return - but alas, Spiders don't have these. Best be for this is to into a powered speaker or directly into a PA (preferably with a direct box). Or, turn the cabinet modelling off and run it through the cleanest, least processed channel on your amp. Even doing this, you'll have a three deep gain structure (pod volume, amp gain, amp volume) which will need to be set just right). Hope this makes sense. \m/,

I just wanted to say no you dont have to have an amp to us the pod, I seen that question several times when I was reviewing it for myself, It has head phone output. I have 6 amps and tried to hook it up every different way. My favorite way to use it is to use an adapter for the phone output and run it through the aux input on my house stereo. If trying to cover a song I play the song through stereo and tweak the pod to match the tone. I play alot of metallica and can match the tone almost perfect. Its great I have a music room in my basement and when friends come over to party and want me to play I can grab my pod and guitar and hook right to my stereo, sure beats dragging a heavy amp and a bunch of pedals and cables up the stairs. Its worth the money mine was $150 on ebay.